Brightest Lupercalia
by Amber-and-Ash
Summary: COMPLETE. RLSS MPREG. The Importance of Remembering the Date, or, Be Careful What you Wish For. One-off.


_Disclaimer: Anything you recognise belongs to J.K. Rowling, etc.. I own nothing, make no money from anything, and am writing this purely for personal enjoyment._

_Warnings: MPREG. Implied non-con. Mild reference to bestiality. Gratuitous!Angst_

_A/N:  
- Work beta'd by Pushkin. A million thanks. All mistakes are still my own.  
- This is my take on a classic story. As such, every element in it has probably been done more than once elsewhere. However, if you believe I am unfairly 'stealing' anything in particular, please contact me._

--

15/02: Severus

"Lupin! Damn it, Lupin! I did not agree to spend my valuable time brewing this to have to chase you down and force it down your throat! Open the damn door!"

The door opened, and Severus stormed in. He deliberately placed himself inside Lupin's personal space, glared into his eyes… and froze. It was still hours before the full moon, but Remus' eyes were already golden - not the rich warm brown he wore in his human guise, but the alien, mocking, eyes of the wolf. Seconds later Severus's lungs were filled with the unmistakable scent of a werewolf in musk.

He was mere inches away from a fully adult alpha male. Lupin might still have been mostly human in body but the intelligence behind those eyes was a good deal more feral. Severus felt hysterical laughter bubbling up. Whoever would have guessed that Lupin, mild-mannered, gentle, wallflower Lupin was an alpha? He pictured Black rolling over to show his belly, baring his necking, whimpering under the weight of the wolf pistoning… He suppressed himself with difficulty, and backed slowly towards the door.

Within seconds, his path was blocked. Severus fingered his wand nervously. If he tried a spell he risked enraging the beast. A male in musk would easily be able to throw of a simple stunner or something similar and he was no more willing to kill Remus this time than he had been the last time. Except this time there would be no James waiting down the corridor to pull him to safety. He put his wand away, and closed his eyes. Nothing he was willing to do would divert the wolf from his need to mate.

He shivered as a hand (a hand he could see so clearly in his minds eye: curled delicately around a pen, arched over a book, brushing against his as he took the potion) reached for his throat. He let his head fall back. All in all, it wasn't a bad way to die. He'd always imagined he would die cowering on his knees, cringing away from _cruciatus_, after failing and betraying everyone. No one else would die this night - once Lupin was free, he would stay with his mate to ensure the paternity of the cubs, and Dumbledore would keep Lupin safe come morning.

His eyes snapped open again when he felt his clothes being ripped from his body. This was cruel promise. The wolf had no more reason to respect him than the man, why would it consider him as a mate? There were plenty of others in the house more suitable than him – Tonks, Fletcher, hell, even the Weasley twins. Absurdly it struck him as ridiculously funny how often he had fantasised about just this very act. Be careful what you wished for indeed.

When the hands returned to pull him to the floor, he finally accepted that he was not going to be killed.

--

16/02: Severus

The next morning, Severus pulled himself carefully away from the again-human Lupin and levered himself to his feet. He tore of a piece of cloth and wiped up the blood and the semen without emotion, not even reacting to the fact that some of that semen was his. He felt as if he was operating under _Imperius_ – his actions under someone else's control.

He was alive, he told himself, and that was a good thing. And if this had to happen to someone, who better than a man who had been longing for it for years?

"_Evanesco_," he cast quietly on the cloth, and then "_expurgo_, _claro_," effectively destroying all evidence of the night.

No potion, no memories, and Severus had no intention of informing him of this sordid little affair. Lupin would no doubt feel a compulsion to tell all his little friends about it. He'd suffered enough humiliation without that, thank you very much. It wasn't that he cared what they thought of him – they had made there feeling perfectly plain already. He just didn't need his nose rubbed in his weakness and rancorous gossip undermining the control of his classes.

He pulled together what was left of his clothing, and examined himself critically. It would pass until he could get back to his rooms. No one looked at him that closely. He placed his hand briefly above his stomach and was strangely disappointed to sense nothing. Of course he wouldn't, he berated himself. The magical womb would not even be fully formed yet, and it would be days before the foetus implanted. Besides, he would be disposing of it as soon as possible.

As he opened the door Remus groaned.

"Snape?" he asked fuzzily. "What are you doing here? What happened?"

His mouth dry, Severus spoke facing the door. He couldn't bring himself to look at Lupin yet. "You never came to collect your potion yesterday, Wolf. I was just letting you out."

"You locked me in? For heavens sake, Severus, couldn't you just have arrived a little earlier and given me the potion?"

"One would think it would be your responsibility to get the potion, Lupin, not mine to give it to you. Be thankful you weren't locked in here all day." His voice was reedy and not at all up to its usual standard, but Severus was counting on the fact that Lupin would still be to disoriented to notice. He swept out immediately and returned to his rooms without incident.

He unlocked the appropriate cabinet and collected the necessary potions. Once again he was grateful for his store. He could just imagine Poppy's face if he asked for purifying slave appropriate for internal application. He didn't have anything for the muscles, but those would heal by themselves easily enough.

This weekend he would prepare the abortifacient and put the whole event behind him.

--

16/02: Remus

Remus rolled over to grab some clothing, and realised with some surprise that he was without injury and remarkably clean. Severus must have treated him before he had woken up. It was so easy to take the bastard impression at face value, but every now and then he would slip up and be caught in a nice gesture like this. He'd even cast an air freshening spell, Remus noted with amusement.

But it was still very much like Severus to want to teach him a lesson about not collecting his potion in time. Why hadn't he collected it, anyway? The memory slipped away from him. Well, never mind. It would all make more sense after he'd rested. He felt like he could sleep for a week.

--

18/02: Severus

That weekend, Severus admitted to himself that it was probably not a good idea to make anything as dangerous as an abortifacient just yet. He had ruined a far less critical potion already that day – half way through one of the simple hospital wing potions he had simply forgotten what he had been making. He was certain he was concealing his difficulties adequately from the brats, and who would notice if he was a little more snappish, or spent a little more time in his rooms? But he was forced to acknowledge in the depths of his own mind that he was not performing at his usual level.

Besides, he had plenty of time to affect a safe termination; he needn't be in any rush. He could wait a few weeks, and give his body and his mind the time to recover from the attack before inflicting any further trauma.

--

14/05: Remus

Remus thanked Tonks for the potion, grimacing at the taste. This was the third time Severus had sent it over rather than wait for him to come and fetch it. He sighed. Not much one for benefit of the doubt, was Severus. Remus was surprised that Severus didn't come himself to personally supervise that he actually took it.

--

23/05: Severus

It was more than three months before he admitted to himself that he had no intention of terminating the pregnancy. Well, if he was going to have this baby, then it was damning well going to have the best care the magical medical profession had to offer. He ignored the whispers resulting from his inquiries - "I didn't know Snape was involved." "He isn't. Besides, he's only interested in men." "What woman would have a kid with that anyway?"

--

13/06: Remus

Fourth time. And the most Remus had seen him at all had been a split-second at Order meetings, where Severus had stood clear on the other side of the room. He frowned to himself. It was unlike Severus to retreat from confrontation. What had he actually said to him that morning? The details of that entire period were just so hazy. Might Severus be waiting for an apology for some reason?

--

18/06: Severus

Severus made his way to where Dumbledore sat enthroned in his office.

"Severus! Good to see you, my boy. Have a seat."

"Thank you, Headmaster." The Headmaster smiled benignly at him for a few moments, inviting him to confess. Severus sat quietly.

When the silence was starting to become graceless, Albus prompted: "Do you have something to tell me?"

"Yes. I will be taking some leave from about November."

"Ahh," breathed the Headmaster, sitting forward in sharp interest. "Who is she, Severus?"

"Who is who?"

"Don't act stupid with me, Severus. Who was the person for whom you have been arranging the pre-natal examinations?"

"For me, of course. Unlike some people, I don't go around organising other people's lives."

"Sev..." Severus watched in sardonic amusement as Albus's face transmuted from anger to shock.

"You're pregnant?"

"Almost four months now."

"Who is the... other parent?"

"None of your business."

"Now, Severus…"

"Will this matter affect my continuing employment?"

"Of course not, Severus."

"Then if you'll excuse me, Headmaster, I have a rather delicate potion I need to get back to."

--

12/07: Remus

Well, Remus wasn't about to let there be a fifth time, especially when he had such a ready excuse for being in the castle. He made his way down to the dungeons, and suppressed his amusement when Severus practically self-levitated.

"Lupin! What are you doing here? I told you I would be sending the potion with Potter."

"I'm here to visit Albus and decided to save you the trouble."

Remus slowed down as his finished the sentence and then sniffed the air. This close to the change, his senses were starting to sharpen. And there was something in the air that he knew he should recognise. An instant later he was forced to back away as Severus added something truly vile-smelling to his cauldron.

"It's over on the counter. Drink it and go."

Remus was about to push the issue when he noticed that Severus was looking whiter than usual and there was a subtle tremor to his hands. He knew that Voldemort occasionally attempted to punish 'the traitor', but he thought they had successfully augmented the wards to prevent that. Still, this could wait until he was feeling better.

He thoughtfully made his way up to Dumbledore.

"What's wrong with Severus?"

"What do you mean?"

"I went to visit him and he isn't looking at all well. And…" He added, suddenly remembering, "... he smells odd."

"Ahh. Well, it isn't common knowledge yet, so I'd ask you to keep this to yourself for the mean time, but it seems our Potion Master is pregnant."

Remus collapsed into a chair. That explained the odd smell, and as little as he knew about wizarding pregnancies, he knew they were notoriously stressful.

"I see. How long…"

"He's about five months pregnant."

Remus knew Snape wasn't having a relationship. He mentally counted back to see if he recalled any attacks during that period that might explain it. His throat suddenly felt as if it was swelling shut. Five months brought him to his missing time, more-or-less.

"And the other father?"

"I don't know. And that disturbs me, because I should."

"Why? I mean, I know male pregnancy is rare, but couldn't a dark curse or something have caused him to fall pregnant with you know, anyone?"

"No, that's a common misconception. Male pregnancies aren't rare because of any difficulty in impregnation. They're rare because they depend so much more on the intermingling of the two parent's magic to sustain the baby than female pregnancies. I know for a fact that Severus is showing no signs of magical rejection. That means that the other father is either a close family member, and Severus doesn't have any that I know of, or someone for whom he has felt a deep bond for a number of years, or else his body would be fighting to expel the foreign magic."

"So, wait, you're telling me that he has to love the other parent to stay pregnant?"

"Essentially, yes."

Remus fought not to collapse in relief. It wasn't him after all. He didn't examine the small voice that pointed out what a good choice Severus would have been as a partner. Powerful, fanatically loyal, brilliant. It was an impossibility even before one considered that Severus had a life-mate out there that he had successfully concealed from everyone.

--

02/09: Severus

Severus had had to modify his stalk to account for his new centre of gravity, but he nevertheless made an impressive entrance on the first day of classes.

"As you have no doubt already heard, I am pregnant. Anyone who explodes a cauldron, drops a vial, or in any other way risks harm to my child will have their flesh ripped slowly from their still-living bodies. You have been warned."

--

25/11: Remus

Remus let Hermione in with some surprise. She had never visited without Harry before.

"I thought you might like to know that Severus gave birth this morning."

"Oh? Boy or girl?"

"Twins, actually. Twin boys. Twin boy cubs."

Remus grabbed his thigh under the cover of his cloak, using his nails to give him the pain he needed to stay focused.

"It makes sense, it is about nine months since Lupercalia. Did you know that this year the Lupercalia fell on the full moon? The urge to mate in alpha males must have been overwhelming. So, did Professor Snape say anything to you when you fetched the wolfsbane?"

They both pretended civil speculation, but Remus could tell that Hermione was furious. And there would be more - she was just the first one to put it all together. Soon enough other people would work it out. As soon as he had seen her out, he apparated as close as possible to Hogwarts. They wouldn't have risked Severus outside of Hogwarts wards.

He waited until Madame Pomphrey was distracted, and slipped into the private room. He stopped in awe as he caught sight of the cots and their contents.

"I have cubs."

He turned as he heard Severus clapping slowly.

"Well done, Lupin, you figured it out. Now go away."

The awe was swiftly replaced with nausea. He slipped to his knees, his legs giving way on him. "I…I raped you," he said aloud, realising it fully for the first time.

"Much as I am enjoying watching you crawl, I must draw a line at your absurd melodrama, Lupin. You didn't 'rape' me. Do you honestly think me so incapable of defending myself?"

"Severus…," at Severus's sharp look he amended, "Professor Snape." He had no right to familiarity now.

"I can't imagine the strength it took not to kill me or the twins. But you didn't ask for what happened that night – it was forced on you. And while I was not in my right mind, it was my fault that I was not."

"I should have recalled it was Lupercalia," commented Severus distantly.

"And I should have made sure no one had to. Please," Remus took a step forward to touch Severus's shoulder, and was horrified when Severus flinched back and started shaking. Remus backed away, keeping his hands in plain sight.

"I'm sorry, Severus. Oh, God."

Suddenly it was too much, and Remus turned tail and ran.

--

14/12: Severus

Severus put up the wards, and the alerts to warn him if the twins were in distress. He turned to see Lupin hovering uncertainly in the passageway.

"Oh for heavens sake, Lupin, come in if you're going to come in. The twins are in their bedroom. Asleep. Wake them, and I shall inflict you with terrors unimaginable."

"Actually, I was wanting to see you."

Severus sighed. He had been expecting this since Dumbledore had started prattling about the benefits of having two parents.

"I suppose you had better come through."

They settled in Severus's living room, and Severus allowed the silence to become painfully drawn out.

"I've been… that is… I mean, I know we'll have to take it slowly, and I appreciate that you won't…well…"

"Spit it out, man. I don't have all night."

"Severus, I'd like to be with you."

"You don't have to pretend an interest in me to see the cubs. Do you really think me so vengeful as to deny you custody?"

"I want to spend with the twins, of course. But I also want to be with you. Severus Snape, may I, Remus Lupin, have permission to court you?"

The unexpectedness of the words stunned Severus. He knew Lupin was from one of the old families, but he had never imagined anyone invoking the old form for him. It was more of the idiotic Gryffindor guilt, of course. But still, it would be nice to go through the courtesies. Even if just for the joy of humiliating Lupin by turning him down at the end of it all. Besides, even if he hated admitting that old goat was right about anything, it would do the cubs good to have him around.

"You have my permission."

--


End file.
